Sometimes the simplest method of saving money is the most overlooked. Negotiating with companies during an economic downturn can be surprisingly effective.

First a confession: I've never been a negotiator when it comes to prices. Whether we're talking about a garage sale or a car it just wasn't something I did. I would look at the cost of something and decide if it was worth it or not and if the cost was too high I'd just leave it on the shelf or showroom floor and walk. That all changed last year when I stumbled onto how simple and effective asking really could be. Photo by stopnlook.

I had a promotion through my cable company, Charter Communications, that had just expired. I had been paying $100 a month for 5MB internet access, unlimited phone service, and an enormous digital cable package. After the promotion ended it shot up to nearly $200. I never actually watched the cable, so it seemed logical to scale my package back. I called the customer service several times and had the most frustrating experience. Every conversation went like this:

Jason: I'd like to change my current package with Charter. I no longer require the telephone service or the digital cable package.

SomeGuyWithAHeavyFrenchAccent: We can add HBO and Cinemax for an additional $10 a month! It's fantastic deal!

Jason: I'm fine, thank you... I actually don't watch any of the stations I currently have. I'd like to drop the digital cable service all together.

SomeGuyWithAHeavyFrenchAccent: But it's only $10! Such a great deal!

After multiple phone calls I went down to the good old fashioned brick and mortar Charter Communications location in my city. There I explained calmly what I wanted and was surprised by the results. Photo by fuzzcat.

Jason: I've called the customer support line multiple times trying to resolve this issue, but I always end up talking to a french guy that wants to sell me HBO. I don't want HBO, I actually don't want cable at all. All I really want is high speed internet service.

SomeLadyWithoutAHeavyFrenchAccent: What about signing up for another promotional package to extend the triple services you currently have? Would that work?

Jason: It would, but money is a bit tight and I don't really need the other two services. I use the internet constantly but the only station I ever actually turn on is PBS because my daughter loves Curious George and WordsWorld. Is there anything I can do? I really like the services you offer but find they are a bit pricey.

SomeLadyWithoutAHeavyFrenchAccent: I understand, how about we drop the phone service and digital cable and we bundle high speed internet and basic access cable together for $35?

Jason: Wow that's fantastic, that's exactly what I've been trying to do over the phone!

At the time, the introductory package for new subscribers for just high speed internet was $45. By persisting and asking, I saved $10 off that and was saved the hassle of installing a TV antenna to pick up the local broadcasts we actually watched at my house. This began the great experiment in always asking if there were ways to cut the cost of something and the best way to go about doing it.

Over the next several months I made it a point to never interact with an employee of a company I was doing business with, without asking if there was some way to lower the expense of the service or product. Talking with the attendant at the gas station I use every week yielded the discovery that they had a customer reward program that would save me around 10% on fuel costs. Talking with the guy stocking shelves at Office Depot led to the discovery of a poorly advertised but excellent sale on blank DVD media. Paying my trash collection bill over the phone and asking if they had any deals yielded a bigger trash can for $5 less per quarter. Asking my home insurance company what I could do to lower my bill led to the discovery that I qualified for a lower bill already because of things like new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Photo by WoodleyWonderworks.

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After months of poking, prodding, and asking people for discounts and deals I discovered the following things:

It absolutely never hurts to ask. No one ever got irritated or annoyed with me. The desire to to save money is apparently universal.

Your tone is critical. Most of the people you will talk to spend all day dealing with irrational and irate customers. Soft spoken curiosity about the negotiable nature of the current price will be met with a much more pleasant response than hostility and complaints about how #*$&%@! expensive everything is.

Emphasize your loyalty to the brand or product. Even if people hate their jobs, they still like to take pride in what they do or sell. If you emphasize that you have received excellent service from Company XYZ but that it has simply become too expensive for you, you'll find most people are willing to work with you.

Most companies would rather have a consistent customer that gets a small discount, rather than no customer at all.

Be attentive to the potential profit margin of an item or service. If the service is already extremely competitive or the price is regulated by the government you won't have much wiggle room for savings.

Know that some things aren't negotiable. My energy company wouldn't discount the actual cost of the natural gas piped to my home, but they were very helpful and gave me information about having my home energy audited to save on my bills.

Even when I found I couldn't directly and immediately save money, so long as I asked in a polite manner I almost always found out some information of value. When I asked about more economical options at the optometrist, they couldn't do anything about the price of the visit but they were running a special where a family member could receive their exam half off essentially making the two visits 25% off.

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What techniques have you used to lower your bills? Share your tales of success and failure in the comments below to help your fellow readers save!

Jason Fitzpatrick is the Weekend Editor for Lifehacker who is a recent and enthusiastic convert to the art of negotiation.